News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1887-10-20
AStory of the Sea,
THE TRUE CIRCUMSTANCES OF TIE MUTINY
ON THE SHIP TWO SISTERS.

The Two Sisters was a fair-sized ship,
carrying nineteen men, and was owned
and sailed from Glasgow. I had come
around to Glasgow ON a coaster from
Liverpool, having no chance to get a
ship, and being willing to take mp with
anything to earn my way until times
got better. The Two Sisters was bound
for Rio Janeiro, and the day I got into
Glasgow was her day for sailing. Oddly
enough, common seaman got a fall
which disabled him, and l was showed
into his place, and the ship was off al
most before [ could turn my head, and
certainly before [ was prepared for such
a long voyage [ had been to sea for
several years previous to this shipment,
and had rated as cable more than once,
but In this case | was rated as ''ordi-
nary, and the pay was to be for such.
1 was then about % years old, thor
ough Yankee by birth and feelings, and
as l had neither parents nor home, 1
did not care in which direction I sailed.
Now, to help you comprehend what
finally happened, L want to say that no
sailing ship ever left port with every
thing entirely satisfactory to Sailor Jack.
He is chronic grumbler, just as the
farmer Is, bnt he means no more by h S
grumbhng. He Will kick on the food,
ON the weather, ON the cargo, on his
quarters, on almost everything con-
nected with the ship and her voyage;
but it is simply fashion, and he doesn't
expect anybody to take him in earnest.
And 1 say further that there is no Eng
Iish, Scotch, German or American sail I
ing ship ahoat to-day in which the Cap |
tain cares two cents for the life of n |
foremast hand. The mates are born |
bullies, ready to knock a man down on
the slightest provocation, and they will
make the prOvocation themselves. Jack
may be cut and bruised and i'll, but it is
only when he falls helpless that he is
permitted to Lave his watch. He is
supposed not to have any more feelings
than an OK, and it would seem as if the
aim of most officers was to make him
forget his manhood. The ditch diggers
in any country live better than the aver
age sailors. Jacks hours are longer
and there isn't day from the time the
voyage is begun until it ends that his
life is not in peril. And to cap the eli
max, he is a man to put up with every
thing. He expects Door grub, plenty of
a close shave for his life about once in
so often. He will stand more bulldozing
than a black slave, and more abuse than
an OK Mutiny atsea is rare occurrence.
The American Marine does not average
one in five years. This isn't because
the provocation is lacking, for that ex-
lists on almost every ship every day, but
because Jack is willing to bear to the
last moment before he turns. In my
time have known sailors to cut their
throats, hang themselves, or leap over
board to end their wretched liyes-made
wretched and unbearable by a bullying
mate. A soldier would have shot down
his officer in such cases. A slave would
have run away.
We were not out of sight of the coast
before it was found that both mates were
bulhes, the Captain a tyrant, and our
grub the poorest which could be pur-
chased for a ship. The crew were far
above the average in point of looks and |
seamanship. AS we were mustered to |
be divided into watches / was surprised |
to note the fine bearing of the men. 1t |
was just such crew as Captain could /
feel confidence in during long and |
perilous voyage. If there was q shirk |
among the lot, his looks did not betray /
him When we were divided off | fell .
to the Captains watch, which is in re-
ality the second mates watch, and I |
found two more Americans with me
Johnson and Green. They were able
seamen of middle age, and there was
but one younger man than l in either
watch. In the first six hours of our be-
ing afOat [ saw four men knocked down
by the mates without provocation
enough to have called out rebuke from
some officers, while the Captain, who
was evidently hard drinker, exhibited
his temper in various ways. 1t is usual
for Captain of ship to make a little
speech to the men when the watches are
divided. 1t is done not to encourage
but to intimidate. 1t is to further show
Jack that he has no moral or legal rights
and that if he isn't Drained
next day with Delaying pin, it is be
cause his officers are willing to overlook
and condon6 his heinOus offences. When
Dur watches were called Capt. Mckay
stepped forward and said:
81 have been looking you over, you
dirty scum of the docks, and [ find
here isn't a sailor among you. /
wouldn't have shipped such a gang of
,ojers for mud scOw. You have come
aboard under false pretences, calculat-
ng to feast on pie and cake and have a
rip for your health Look out for me,
you id riffraff. I'll make some of
you wish you had never been born be-
ore this voyage is over" {
That was his speech as one of the sail {
)rs wrote it down, and that was the cue
,he mates were to take. When the off t
watch went below the men remarked to q
each other that it looked as if we had c
signed articles with q bad man, but there {
was no criticism. When supper was
served We found the beef outrageous. +
The smell of it was sufficient to turn n
sailors stomach, and you can imagine a
hat it must have been pretty high. The i,
5ea could never have seen the inside of
| chest. | doubt if it was ANYTHING y
more than the leaves Of trees and =
shrubs. The ship biscuit had better /
been called ship grubs. There was o
more worm than biscuit in each case.
md as hungry as we were, not man
made pretence of eating It is the Y
nile of every ship that Jack may come g
# with his complaint He was ex-
,ectcI to in this case. The captain 8
vas OH deck when he should have been :